1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a compression molding machine that compresses a powdery material to mold a pharmaceutical tablet, a food product, an electronic component, or the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
There has been known a compression molding machine in which die holes are provided so as to penetrate a table in a vertical direction, and an upper punch and a lower punch are retained above and below each of the die holes so as to be slidable in the vertical direction, so that a powdery material filled in each of the die holes is subject to tableting so as to be compressed and molded (refer to Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2010-023083, for example).
When a product molded into a tablet by such a compression molding machine is taken out, dust of an excessive powdery material, a lubricant, or the like may adhere to a surface of the molded product. Even in a case where such dust does not adhere to a surface of the molded product, the dust is discharged together with the molded product. In order to remove such dust from the molded product, there are cases of using a dust removing device for separating dust from a molded product that is being conveyed by pressurized air and collecting the separated dust (refer to Japanese Patent No. 4315905, for example).
The dust removing device described in Japanese Patent No. 4315905 also functions as a lifter for lifting upward molded products that are discharged from the compression molding machine. Such a configuration enhances usability in feeding the molded products into one of devices for performing various subsequent processes including classifying, coating (such as film coating and sugar coating), and packaging (such as canning) the molded products that have been lifted upward.
The dust removing device described above or a lifter not having such a powder removing function is provided outside the compression molding machine. Accordingly, such a device occupies a certain necessary space in a plant.